1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming device including an intermediate medium, wherein an image is first formed on the intermediate medium, and then transferred onto a recording medium by application of heat and/or pressure.
2. Description of the Related Art
This type of image forming device includes ink jet printers, thermal-transfer printers, and electrostatic printers, and is capable of reliably forming a high-quality multicolor image.
In order to effectively transfer the image from the intermediate medium onto the recording medium, the intermediate medium is processed to have a smooth surface. This is particularly true in an ink jet printer using phase-changeable ink and in a thermal-transfer printer.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication (Kokai) No. HEI-3-242667 discloses an image forming device including an intermediate medium, wherein an image formed on the intermediate medium is thermally transferred onto a recording medium. The intermediate medium is formed from a silicon elastomer to have a smooth surface that has a roughness with a maximum height Rmax of 10 xcexcm or less.
The image formed on the recording medium in this manner will have a smooth surface because surface roughness of the image depends on the surface roughness of the intermediate medium. The smooth surface of the image gives the printed image a glossy texture.
However, there are those who prefer silk images without gloss. In fact, there is known a silver halide photographic recording method for providing silk images. However, as described above, the smooth surface of the intermediate medium gives the printed image a glossy texture.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide an intermediate medium capable of providing a silk image without gloss and an image forming device including the intermediate medium.
In order to achieve the above and other objectives, there is provided a transfer device including an intermediate medium and a transfer unit. The intermediate medium has a surface having a surface roughness Rz of between 5 xcexcm and 50 xcexcm. The surface of the intermediate medium is formed with an image of phase-changeable ink. The transfer unit transfers the image from the intermediate medium onto a recording medium.
There is also provided an image forming device including an intermediate medium, an image forming unit, and a transfer unit. The intermediate medium has a surface roughness Rz of between 5 xcexcm and 50 xcexcm. The image forming unit forms an image onto the intermediate medium using phase-changeable ink. The transfer unit transfers the image from the intermediate medium onto a recording medium.